


Impossible

by CrystalRebellion



Category: Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984)
Genre: Comedy, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Fluff, mutual survival, prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 01:03:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17457647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalRebellion/pseuds/CrystalRebellion
Summary: When Allura answers a distress call in an abandoned mine, she encounters Cossack.  After a skirmish, both find themselves stuck and as they begrudgingly await rescue, the Drule grows curious of the state of affairs between Allura and Lotor, and some surprising confessions are aired. (Fluff) (One-Shot) (Sorta-crack) (Lotura) Prompt from tumblr.





	Impossible

Cossack leaned against the stone wall behind him, his lips stretching in a lazy grin as a feminine, near-feral growl of frustration echoed off the empty room.  The Princess of Arus never ceased to entertain him.

He closed his eyes in an exhale, folding his arms behind his head.

“I don’t know why you’re so worked up.  Not like there’s anything we can do.”

The flustered pacing stopped suddenly and he could _feel_ the glare that was beamed across the room at him.

“You _shot_ me.”

“Yeah? And?  That’s kind of what I… _do._ ”

A righteous snort echoed.

Scraping and scratching followed an undignified yelp and Cossack’s golden eyes flew open in surprise.

“What are you doing?  You’re going to hurt yourself; this is the bottom of a Velspire Diamond mine.  These walls are more solid than even your ship.”  His brow furrowed as he stared across the pit in the ground as Allura scowled darkly at the shattered lion grips in her palms, the tools unable to take purchase on the walls.

The hot-tempered princess tossed the broken implement aside before digging into her tool belt once more in frustration.

“If those little climbing thingies of yours can’t even pierce the wall – you might as well just relax.  Help is coming.”

“Yes, help for _you._   My com-line shattered in the fall and with Blue Lion up top, I can’t radio my location to Keith,” she replied tartly.

“Then I guess you’re stuck waiting just like I am,” he replied smartly, settling back against the mirror-smooth surface. “On the bright side, Prince Lotor is going to be a lot happier to see me stuck in a hole if you’re here, too.”

“ _Cossack!_ ”

“What? It’s true.”

“Don’t you _dare_ tell him I’m here.”

Allura’s hips sagged to the floor as she exhaled her frustration, glaring across the pit at the Drule.

“Too late.”

The princess unleashed a frustrated cry.

“ _Why_ would you do that?”

“Honestly – I was worried he wouldn’t come for me at all.  But knowing the princess is also in danger, I’m certain he’s rushing this way right now.”

Allura felt her skin heat at the smirk on his face.

“You’re cruel,” she murmured, unable to shake the blush that ran from her nose to her toes.

“You’re not wrong on that but – how specifically am I so?”

“Taunting me like that,” she replied, folding her arms primly over her chest.

“I thought girls liked to be saved by handsome princes.”

Allura’s eyes draped closed defiantly in response, her lips pressed together.

“I don’t need to be saved.”

“So you think he’s handsome?”

The rumble of fury from the back of her throat caused the man to throw his head back and laugh openly.

His expression quieted at Allura’s melancholy.  She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, staring at the ground thoughtfully.

“You’re planning.”

The princess blinked, eyes the color of a sky Cossack rarely saw flashing to him in surprise.

“W…what?”

“You’re plotting,” he repeated.  “I can see it in your expression.  You’re planning how you’re going to handle things once the Drule ship gets here, aren’t you?”

An elegant, golden brow quirked at him.  As the hostile tension of their skirmish lessened, an unspoken truce bloomed between them, and Allura allowed herself to truly study the man.

“Why do you think that?”

“It’s the way you look.  You’re tense, but relaxed, so whatever is troubling you is in your mind.  Your muscles are flexed, but there’s no threat here, so you’re preparing for something yet to come.”

Allura’s guard dropped entirely as the honest assessment.

“You… you can tell that just by looking at someone?”

“Well… yeah. I mean… does your team only use verbal communication?  Sometimes on a battlefield, you can’t _hear_ anyone else. We, at least, are taught how to look to our commanders and read their body language – to know what to do even when an order can’t be heard. …You seem surprised by that.”

Allura grumbled in response, her wary façade returning as she grappled with her shock at the surprisingly observant commander.

“We… never trained,” she replied gently, a strange expression shadowing her face.  When the rugged Drule only looked surprised, the princess found a strange relief in continuing her explanation.  “None of us are soldiers because we ever wanted to be.  We all crave a reality where we won’t have to fight again…”

“Go on,” he murmured, transfixed by the strange culture she painted for him.

Allura’s keen brow creased deeply and she pinned him with a tight expression.

“We don’t fight to win… we fight because we all have something we aren’t willing to _lose_.”

A strange light reflected at her from Cossack’s wide eyes.  After a moment, he nodded once.

“I see.”

“See what?”

The princess’s eyes narrowed skeptically.

“I think I understand you a bit better now, that’s all.  Probably another half hour before Prince Lotor gets here. …Hey now, come… come on.”

He exhaled in exasperation as Allura rose to her feet and promptly began trying to find a way to scale the thirty-foot, diamond-hard walls.

“I do _not_ want to be here when he arrives,” she muttered darkly, cursing as her gloved hands slipped against the surface.

“And why’s that.”

“You _know_ why.”

Allura’s tone was dark and threatening.  For a fraction of a second, Allura felt a glimmer of hope.

As the tips of her fingers found purchase on a tiny facet jutting out of the wall, she pulled herself off the ground.

Cossack watched quietly as her grip slipped and she tumbled back into the earth, landing flat on her back.

“You cut your hand,” he murmured.

“Not your concern,” she replied as she sat upright, clutching the crimson-touched glove to her chest.

“It is if it means I’ll lose my head over it.”

“Why would my well-being have any bearing on yours?”

Silence settled between them when Cossack didn’t answer, and Allura hazarded a concerned look over her shoulder in his direction.

After a moment of contemplative silence, he replied in a careful, controlled manner.

“Does that question _really_ require an answer, Princess?”

A shiver rolled down her spine at the implication.

“I suppose not,” she hedged with a huff, settling back onto the ground bitterly.  “Why _are_ you in this mine, anyway, Cossack?  It’s unusual to see you so far from Lotor or Zarkon.”

“Well, why are _you_?”

He flipped the question back on her, catching her by surprise.

“…I… was answering a distress call,” she hedged.  “And then I ran into you.”

“Yes… that was my distress call.”

“ _Yours_?”  Liquid fire trained on him as her eyes clashed with this. “I’m here because of _you_?”

“My ship crashed,” he said with a shrug.  “What else was I supposed to do?”

“You shot at me!”

Allura’s temper rose and the Drule commander only shrugged, a grin tracing his lips.

“If I recall correctly, Princess, _you_ are the one who leaped from your cockpit, weapon drawn when you saw me.  I merely defended.  At least until we fell down the shaft, and now here we are,” he gestured with his palms before folding them back in his lap. “And now we wait for Prince Lotor.”

His knowing grin widened when Allura’s skin paled.

“Well, perhaps _you_ can do such a thing,” she murmured, her words a breathless whisper as she turned her attention on the sleek walls, rising to her feet restlessly.

“He scares you.”

A stiffening shudder rolled down Allura’s spine as she popped her hands on her hips, slowly turning back to regard the Drule.

“Of course not.  He’s just a bully and a brute.”

The languid silence that rolled between them caused both her heart rate and her breathing to hitch in tempo.

“Is he, though?”

The lazy question echoed off the room and Allura could only turn her eyes up to the scaffolding far above her head.

“Why aren’t you fighting with me?  You are my enemy.”

“Yeah, I thought I covered that – I like my head attached to my shoulders.”

Her gaze snapped back down to him.

“What?”  Genuine surprise flooded her expression at his words.  “Do you really think me capable of such a barbarous-”

“Oh no, not you.  You’re too sweet to do that,” he replied with a laugh.  “I meant Prince Lotor.”

With a groan, Allura slid down to her backside, returning to her seated position on the floor, facing the commander with frustration.

“He wouldn’t be bothered,” she muttered after a moment.

“You really don’t know him all that well, now do you?”  A golden eye quirked in response.

Allura’s lips pressed together tautly.

“And _why_ would he?”

“I mean, it’s not obvious? He _cares_.”

Her gaze narrowed dangerously on him.

“Oh yes, torturing my people and trying to crush the very robot that keeps them alive.  It’s _so_ romantic,” she murmured dryly, collapsing her face into her palms with a sigh.

A heavy silence settled between them as Cossack tested his next sentence in his mind first.

“…if you were Drule, it would be,” he replied honestly, no thread of sarcasm or filament of mockery laced his words.

Allura stilled, slowly raising her eyes to meet his incredulously.

“What?”

Cossack only shrugged casually.

“I mean it.  He’s just trying to prove he’s strong enough to protect you.”

Allura saw red; beyond the flush that covered her cheeks.

“ _By attacking me?_ ”

“Well… …how would you do it?”

His genuine curiosity struck her so strangely, her temper deflated instantaneously.

“What do you mean, Cossack?”

“Well,” he paused, hesitating.  “I mean, if you wanted to show you were worthy of someone, wouldn’t being able to win against the strongest force in the universe – Voltron – be the best way to demonstrate that?”

A strange sensation settled in her abdomen at the practicality of the words.  As twisted as the design may have been – especially considering she was the heiress to the power in question – the logic didn’t feel wholly unfounded.

She frowned.

“It’s not necessary,” she muttered quietly, more to herself than Cossack as she draped her arms over her knees.

“Not necessary?  Why, the only reason such a display wouldn’t be necessary was if he didn’t need to prove anything to earn your affection!  It’s completely necessary!”

His surprised voiced echoed off the cave, but when Allura didn’t respond, an air of understanding settled between them.

Allura’s eyes studied the smooth stone to her left as Cossack’s widened.

“ _Oh,_ ” he breathed in acknowledgement.

Allura’s cheeks pinkened, but she continued to hold her tongue.

“You _do_ care,” he murmured reverently.

Allura’s nose scrunched in fury, the blush on her cheeks darkening as her eyes became harder – but she didn’t dare meet his.

“Of course not,” she snapped back quickly.  _Too quickly._

Cossack’s fanged grin widened.

"I think you do," he insisted.

Her eyes slid to his dangerously, her shoulders remaining curled defensively, her entire body still as death.

Her lips pressed together tightly as she struggled to contain her erratic pulse.

"No," she replied with as much vindication as she could muster.

Cossack didn't buy it.

"Not even a little?"  When her blush deepened, he pressed her firmer.  "Not even remotely curious?  Never even once thought about peace in the galaxy - what being an Empress might be like?"

She released a frustrated noise through her nose, tilting her head away again, her fingers tightening around her knees.

"What was it like, Princess?  Laying in bed one night, hidden in the security of the darkness, locked safely in your room.  What was it like to unchain your mind and let it wander... to think, just a moment about what such a reality might be like?"

"Hush," she whispered, her pride deflated.

"How many times have you thought of him?"

"Never."

A lazy chuckle echoed across the room.

"What are you laughing at?"  She scowled at the insufferable man.

"Every time you lie, you bite your lip afterwards, as if you regret it," he commented lazily.  "Do you have any idea how often you've done that in the last few minutes?"

A horrified gasp flew from Allura's lips as her skin tone matched the pink embellishments of her flight suit.

"No!"

Her hands clasped over her mouth in shock, her eyes wide as Cossack laughed deeply.

"So, seriously though.  Have you ever even considered it?"

Allura's lips popped open sharply, ready to tell the man off, but the earnest look in his eyes froze her in her tracks.  He was genuinely curious, and it showed.

She snapped her jaw shut smartly before resting her cheek against her knees.

"...Maybe," she conceded.

She could _feel_ the lazy stretch of his wide grin without looking to him, but the laughter she expected did not follow.  Curiously, she chanced a look his way.

Cossack was smiling at her, but there was neither taunt nor tease in his expression.

"And?" he prodded gently.

Allura tensed.

"Impossible," she murmured.

"How so?"  Cossack's expression drew tight in confusion at the odd answer, the grin fading from his face.

Allura's gloved hand brushed against the top of her boot, cheek still resting against her drawn knees shyly.

"It's impossible," she repeated with a defeated shrug.

Her eyes snapped to Cossack at the sound of his shuffling, only to see he had merely shifted his weight where he was sitting.

"What's impossible?"

Her eyes narrowed at the question and she straightened, letting her back fall against the wall behind her, legs stretching out before her.

"Is it not obvious?"

"Actually, no, it's not.  Enlighten me."

"You don't see it?  He and I? He's a brute and a bully, he tries to control everything, including me, he only knows violence and destruction and has the _arrogance_ to continue to attempt to bind me to his will - you think there's a shred of viability in there somewhere?"

Cossack hummed thoughtfully, but did not answer her question, instead watching her curiously.  In his silence, her blush still darkened.

"But you still considered it."

Allura pouted.

"Briefly, yes," she admitted in a guarded tone.

"Why?  If it's so _impossible_."

When Allura hesitated, Cossack exercised an unusual degree of patience, simply waiting.  As the silence grew heavier and he didn't bother to change the subject, instead letting the question hang in front of her, she faltered.

"It's not... _entirely_ unappealing," she hedged carefully. 

"Oh?"  The Drule's grin widened slightly.

Allura's lips twitched slightly in irritation.

"He's not... exactly... unattractive, you know," she huffed, her skin deepening to a color closer to red.  "And... there are some... ...traits I can appreciate."

"Well, well, so _there's_ the truth in it all," he murmured appreciatively.

"Hush, you beast," Allura chided.  "You're cruel to -"

Her eyes widened and the red on her skin dissipated into sheet-white at the sound of a rumble.

"Speaking of," Cossack chirped, slowly rising to his feet and stretching.  "It seems our ride is here."  His pointed ear twitched slightly, glancing up to the top of the pit as the sound of footsteps echoed.

Her heart flipped in her chest and her stomach clenched as nausea bubbled up.   It was a sound she was far too familiar with, often hearing it in pursuit behind her.

Her arms folded tightly over her chest and she drew her knees back in protectively, her eyes sweeping down to glance at the pistol holstered at her side.

After her firefight with Cossack, the power only retained about a third of its maximum charge.

“Hey.”

Allura’s eyes flashed over to Cossack’s quiet word.  She said nothing, her entire body taut and braced for another round of combat.  He shrugged at her, a wink on his features.

Sure as the dawn breaking over Arus, the familiar Drule warlord made his appearance on the edge of the pit, staring down at them.  His eyes immediately found her, and Allura glared back in response.

Lotor quickly glanced to Cossack.

“So, you were telling the truth after all,” he called out. “Tell me, why should I not leave you down there to rot for attempting to hurt her?”

Allura’s eyes widened at the exchange and she quickly unfolded, rising to her feet.

“I… I shot first,” she admitted. “I followed his distress call, and I thought he was hurting someone else – not that it was him that needed help.”  Her cheeks dusted a light pink as her gaze flickered to Cossack’s stunned expression. “…I’m sorry.”

Lotor studied Allura for a moment before turning the full force of his attention on her.

“And you, my sweet, are you harmed?”

A dubious look clouded her face before she answered honestly.

“No.”

“Good,” he grunted, turning on heel and disappearing briefly.  When he returned, he carried a coil of rope in his arms.  With one end tied off to something out of sight, he tossed the other end down as Cossack caught it easily.

He glanced to the princess and gestured to the rope.

“If you go first, I can help you up,” he offered.

Allura shook her head once.

“I’m staying here until you leave,” she proclaimed, plopping back down on the ground and folding her arms once more, glaring up at the prince.

His face twitched in irritation.

“My dear, I’ve come to your rescue, the least you could do is offer me a kiss…”

A lazy grin curled across his lips as her flush darkened.

“You’re a brute!  I didn’t ask for your help!”

“Oh, but my sweet, I bring you-”

“Sire, if I may.”  Cossack’s words caught the prince’s attention after he scaled the rope quickly.

Allura’s eyes stared in confusion as their voices dropped to a whisper.

Her heart flipped in her chest, the commander seemingly relaying something to the Drule leader.

_Surely not_ _…_

Lotor’s eyes widened without warning before fixing on Allura.

She swallowed, her blood pounding in her ears.

“What did you say to him,” she hissed out, barely pressing the whisper with enough force to be heard over the distance between them.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Cossack waved dismissively, walking past his prince toward the ship.

Lotor’s eyes flickered after the commander before pinning Allura with a look.  A _hungry_ look.

“Is your lion damaged?”

Her guard dropped at the honest question.

“…No.  It’s fine, I just… couldn’t get back to it.  The diamond stone down here shattered my scaling claws,” she explained openly, her face still wary.

He nodded tensely.

“Do you require anything?  Medical treatment? Rations? Fuel?”

“No, I have everything… what did Cossack tell-”

She stopped mid-sentence as Lotor ignored her question, instead bowing before her.

“Until we meet again, my sweet,” he explained before turning on heel and following his commander, a wicked, fanged grin on his face.

Allura’s cheeks colored brightly.

_Oh stars, he **did.**_

She hesitated, listening to the dissipating echo of footfalls.  Cautiously, she crept to the rope that he had left, and warily hoisted herself to the top.

Peeking over the lip of the mine, she scanned the passageway.  No sign of either Drule, nor cruiser remained.

With a weak hopefulness, Allura hoisted herself out of the pit and quietly crept through the cavern until it opened to the outside planet.  There, parked proudly by the entrance where she had left it, sat the Blue Lion.

Her keen eyes skimmed the beast as well as the surrounding area, but she and her machine seemed to be alone.

Allura exhaled, cloistering her courage as she broke into a sprint, hauling across the terrain toward her ship.

No command to halt, nor stray laser fire came her way.  The princess skidded to a standstill, safely hidden behind the front claw of her safety.

A nervous noise reverberated from her throat, and she quickly closed the distance between herself and her cockpit, dropping her key into place.

It wasn’t until she was settled in her seat and the lion hummed to life around her that she released her first exhale of relief.

Grasping the controls, her lion leapt into the air, taking her back on a trajectory toward her home planet. 

A blip on the radar caught her attention.

Allura swiveled her view frame in its direction, only to catch sight of Lotor’s cruiser lifting off before turning in the opposite direction.

“He waited… to make sure I made it to my lion,” she murmured, a blush touching her cheeks at the realization.  “And… he let me leave.”

She bit down on her bottom lip nervously.

“I should not be entertaining such thoughts but… perhaps there _is_ a chance for peace between us, after all.”

**Author's Note:**

> This prompt came from tumblr and got just a little too long to share there, so it became its own thing. Feel free to follow me; CrystalRebellion on tumblr, and CrystalRebelion on twitter. (Dumb character count on names makes me look like I can't spell.) Thanks for reading, feedback is always encouraged!


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